Carla A Mazefsky, PhD

Nancy J. Minshew, MD Chair in Autism Research and Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, and Psychology

Areas of Expertise

  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Children & Adolescents
  • Mood Disorders
  • Anxiety, OCD & Trauma Disorders
  • Older Adults
  • Suicidality & Self-Harm
Carla A Mazefsky, PhD
Expertise & Interests Selected Publications Education & Credentials Related News

Expertise & Interests

Research Interests

Emotion reactivity and regulation; Measure development; Suicide in autism

Clinical Interests

Emotion reactivity and regulation; Adolescence and adulthood in autism; Outcome measurement

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Clinical psychology intern mentorship; Medical student/resident/fellow education

Selected Publications

  1. Antezana L, Conner CM, Eldeeb S, Turecki S, Siegel M, Karim HT, Mazefsky CA. Using machine learning to identify features associated with different types of self-injurious behaviors in autistic youth. Psychological Medicine. 2025 Jan;55:e98.
  2. White SW, Conner CM, Beck KB, Mazefsky CA. Efficacy of the emotion awareness and skills enhancement program in autism: A randomized controlled trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025, Jul. Online First.
  3. Mazefsky CA, Conner CM, Siegle GJ, Scott LN, Bylsma LM, Beck KB, Antezana L, Hu X, Cohen A, Borue X, Handen B. Advancing research on suicide and mental health in autistic adults through a Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)-inspired framework. Autism in Adulthood. 2025. In Press.
  4. Beck KB, MacKenzie KT, Kumar T, Breitenfeldt KE, Chang J, Conner CM, Mandell DS, White SW, Mazefsky CA. The world's really not set up for the neurodivergent person: Understanding emotion dysregulation from the perspective of autistic adults. Autism in Adulthood. 2024 June. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.02
  5. Mazefsky CA, Yu L, White SW, Siegel M, Pilkonis PA. The Emotion Dysregulation Inventory: Psychometric properties and item response theory calibration in an autism spectrum disorder sample. Autism Res. 2018 Jun;11(6):928-941. PMID: 29624893.
  6. Conner CM, Ionadi A, Mazefsky CA. Recent research points to a clear conclusion: Autistic people are thinking about, and dying by, suicide at high rates. Positive approaches. 2023 Nov; (12) 3: 69-76. https://www.myodp.org/mod/book/view.php? id=48947&chapterid=1055
  7. Beck KB, Conner CM, White, SW, Mazefsky, CA. Mindfulness here and now: Strategies for helping adolescents with autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2020 Oct (10): 1125-1127J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, Volume 59, Issue 10, 1125 - 1127

Education & Credentials

Education & Training

Education
PhD, Child Clinical Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University
Internship
Clinical Psychology, Brown University School of Medicine
Fellowship
Clinical Psychology, Brown University School of Medicine
Postdoctoral
Psychiatric Genetics, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University
Postdoctoral
Clinical Psychology, Virginia Treatment Center for Children, Virginia Commonwealth University

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, International Society for Autism Research

Selected Honors & Awards

  • Slifka/Ritvo Award for Innovation in Autism Research, International Society for Autism Research and the Slifka Foundation

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